The Glee Project: Mad World
by Shelby-Belby
Summary: High school is hard. It's even hard when you have a secret to keep. Twelve kids who have nothing in common become friends by joining a club that hasn't been around for a few years. The Glee club...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Glee Project kids, they own themselves. I do not own Glee, the Glee teachers or McKinley high school, FOX does. This story is pure fiction and made for entertainemnt purposes only.

* * *

><p>"Cameron, put a hat on. It's snowing!" His mom, Elizabeth called from the kitchen.<p>

"Maaa." Cameron whined.

"Cameron James Mitchell, don't make me come out there." She said.

"Got a hat." He called back, pulling a red beanie on. "Bye Mom. Love you."

"Bye baby. Have a good day at school." Elizabeth called.

Cameron walked outside and pulled his hat off his head. He stuffed it into his backpack and headed to the bus stop.

It would snow it Lima, but Cameron never got too cold. He hated that his mom always worried about him so much. He hadn't been sick in almost a year.

He walked up to the corner just as the bus screeched to a stop. He climbed the steps and flopped down in a seat. Being one of the first people on the bus always sucked, but he was always one of the first people to be dropped off too.

Cameron pulled a _Batman_ comic out of his backpack and started flipping through the warn pages.

"Hi Cameron!" Marissa yelled running down the isle to her best friend like she hadn't seen him in a year.

"How can you be so energetic in the morning?" he asked, leaning against her as she flopped into the seat.

"A combination of cough syrup and coffee." She laughed, then started coughing.

Cameron sat up quickly.

"Don't be such a worry wart. It's just a cold." She said, wiping her nose on a tissue she pulled out of her coat sleeve.

Cameron nodded, leaning against the window.

* * *

><p>"Damian. Are you going to school today?" his aunt asked from outside the door.<p>

"No." Damian said, pulling his quilt over his head.

"Okay…you have to try sometime though, buddy." She said.

"I'll try tomorrow." He muttered.

The door opened and his aunt's heave footsteps could be heard walking across his room. His bed sagged as she sat down on it.

"Damian." She said, putting her hand on his side. "Can I get you anything before I leave?"

"I want my mom." He muttered.

"You know I would love to give her to you, buddy. But you also know all too well that can't." she said.

"Auntie Shannon?" Damian asked, pulling the covers away from his face. His face was pale and his eyes were bloodshot from crying and lack of sleep.

"What is it, buddy?" she asked.

"What was Dad like as a kid?" he asked.

"I could sit here all day and tell you about the things your father used to do as a kid. But, buddy, it's gonna have to wait until I get home. We'll go up to the attic and look through the trucks of my youth." She smiled at him.

Damian cracked a small smile.

"There we go. We'll do that first thing when I get home. I'll be home around five, after football practice. There is food in the fridge if you get hungry. Please don't go anywhere. And please don't die while I'm out." She said, tickling his ribs.

Damian laughed and pushed her hands away.

"Bye buddy." She kissed his forehead and walked out of his room.

"Bye Auntie Shannon." Damian said, pushing himself up.

He stood at his window and watched her car drive down snow-covered street.

Snow. It wasn't a new concept to Damian, he had seen snow before, but he wasn't used to this much. He was used to waking up with a layer of front on the front lawn that was usually gone before noon. He wasn't used to it snowing for half the day.

His aunt's car turned the corner and Damian walked down the hall. A string hung from the ceiling. He grabbed it and yanked. The door fell down and a ladder slid to the ground. A cold wind slithered down from the attic.

Slowly Damian climbed the attic stairs, feeling like he was breaking and entering.

The attic was nicely organized. Everything was labeled. Boxes and trucks with labeled with a name and a year.

He found a truck with his name on it and the year 1986. It was covered in a thick layer of dust. It was his dad from his senior year of high school. It was in their attic for a long time, Damian never thought about touching it before.

Damian unlatched the locks and pushed the lid up. He was met with a musty combination of cinnamon, dust and sweat.

"Gross." Damian muttered, sitting on his heels.

The first thing he noticed in the trunk was a letterman jacket. It was green with white leather sleeves, the number 42 was on the sleeve and a knight was on the back.

Damian pulled the jacket on. It was a size and a half too big. He smiled and kept digging through the trunk.

He found a pink tie and a set of silver cuff links in an envelope labeled senior prom, a bent silver crown, a bunch of Polaroid photos with the colors wearing away and newspaper clippings yellowing with age.

He found a yearbook at the bottom of the trunk. He leaned against the wall beside him and rested the yearbook on his knees. He opened to the first page and a note fell out. It was in his mom's bubbly cursive handwriting. Damian wanted to read the note, but tears filled his eyes before he even opened it. He set it on the floor and started flipping through the pages.

His dad was very popular in high school. He was in almost ever sports photo and in a lot of the photos of students goofing around. He flipped the page and saw his mother and father smiling brightly on a stage, both wearing crowns. Under the picture was a caption _1986 Prom King Damian McGinty Prom Queen Suzanne McCann_.

Damian smiled at the picture as hot tears rolled down his cheeks.

His mom had told him the story of how her and Daddy met so many times Damian would tell it. Damian's mom was a foreign exchange student her senior year, she had math with Damian's dad. He wasn't good at math, or at least pretended to not be good, and asked Suzanne he to his tutor. They spent almost ever day during lunch in the library. At first they had started out studying, but as they talked, they got to know each other. Soon Damian asked Suzanne out and the rest was history. They had both cried when Suzanne had to back to Ireland. Damian couldn't forget about her though. He went to Ireland for college and met her. They got married after college and moved into a house in Derry.

Damian laid down on the attic floor, holding the yearbook to his chest.

* * *

><p>"Michael your bus is here!" Samuel yelled up the stairs.<p>

His eight year old little sister came charging down the stairs, pulling her coat on. He held out her backpack and lunch box.

"Bye Sammy!" she yelled heading for the door.

Samuel grabbed her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

Michael smiled and ran to the bus that was idling in front of their apartment.

"Is she was smart, she'd start calling herself Michelle." His twelve-year-old sister, Diana said. "Mom was so stupid giving her a boy's name."

"She did it to spite Dad, you know that right. Michael isn't dad daughter, and Mom just loves to rub that fact in. And to do it even more she named her after her real dad." Samuel said, walking into the kitchen. "That stays between us until she is fourteen…shouldn't you be at school?"

"Shouldn't you?" Diana retorted.

"My school is right over there." Samuel pointed out the side door. Right beside the apartments was McKinley High School. "And I'm waiting for Chance's bus, which is running late because of the snow. What's your excuse?"

"I'm sick." She said and then faked a cough.

"You bus will be her in ten minutes, go get dressed." Samuel said, pushing her up the stairs.

Diana bit at his hand but climbed the stairs without a word.

Samuel walked into the living room. His five-year-old brother was sitting in front of the TV watching _The Cat in the Hat_. He was wearing a blue polo and Spider-Man underwear.

"Chance, where are your pants?" Samuel asked kneeling beside his little brother.

Chance looked down at his legs and pointed at is khakis that sat next to him.

"Why aren't you wearing them?" Samuel said, standing his little brother up.

"Cat in Hat." He said, putting his hands on Samuel's shoulders and stepped into his pants.

A horned honked outside.

"Diana! Your bus!" Samuel yelled, brushing Chance's soft blonde hair.

"Bye Sam." She yelled, slamming the front door behind her.

"Now it's just you an me, buddy." Samuel said.

_Ring-ring…ring-ring…_

"Hello?" Chance said, plopping back down on the carpet.

Samuel tussled his hair and picked the phone up.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hello, this is an automated message from Jamison School for Special Needs. We are closed today due to the snow. I'm sorry for in incontinence. To hear this message again press one…"

Samuel groaned and tossed the phone into a chair. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock. Ten till eight.

"Hey, buddy. You want to go to school with me today?" Samuel asked.

"Yeah!" Chance yelled, jumping to his feet.

"Put your shoes on and we'll go." Samuel said, pulling his dreads into a lazy man ponytail.

Samuel pulled Chance's stroller from the closet.

"Noooooo." Chance whined, Velcroing his shoes. "Baby stroller."

"Buddy, it snowed, do you want to walk in the snow?" Damuel asked, putting an extra pair of sneakers into his messenger bag.

"No." Chance said.

"Then I have to bring your stroller." Samuel said, putting some toys and things for Chance to play with in the basket under the stroller.

Chance nodded like he understood, even though he clearly didn't.

Samuel was five minutes late for school.

"Ms. Oh, can I get a pass to class?" Samuel asked, leaning against the counter.

"You have Chance with you today. Was Jamison closed?" she asked, writing on a yellow slip of paper.

Samuel nodded. "But I couldn't stay home with him, I have two tests today."

"If you need any help with him, bring him here and I'll look after the little guy."

"Thanks Ms. Oh." He took the note and headed to class.

* * *

><p>Hannah smiled when Samuel sat down next to her in their art class.<p>

"Hi baby." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're late."

"Angel wouldn't wake up. Ginny took forever in the shower. Diana's tried to fake sick and her bus was late. And Jamison is closed because of the snow. So I have Chance today, because I didn't have time to find someone to watch him, because I was already late and—"

"A simple, I know would have been fine." Hannah laughed, picking up her paintbrush.

"Hannah!" Chance yelled.

"Shh." Hannah said, holding her paintbrush to her lips. Her purposely put blue paint on the tip of her nose.

Chance giggled, but covered his mouth.

"You have a kid." The sophomore girl who sat next to him said.

"I know." He said, trying to remember her name.

"He looks nothing like you." she said, mixing colors on a plate.

"Different dads." Samuel said.

Chance looked up at her.

"You pretty." Chance said, leaning forward in his stroller.

The girl set down her paintbrush and knelt in front of the stroller.

"Hi, cutie. What's your name?" she said, her long, shiny, black hair tumbled forward when she leaned forward.

"Chance." He said, petting her hair.

"Hi, Chance. I'm Lindsey."

"Lindsey." He repeated.

Lindsey kissed him on the forehead, leaving a lip-gloss mark.

"He's cute, Samuel." She said, going back to her painting.

"I'm stressed." Samuel said, resting his head on the blank canvas. "I don't even want to do this stupid painting."

"It's a scenery painting. It's easy, baby." She said, rubbing his back.

"Scenery…can I just turn it in like this and say it's the snow?" he asked.

Hannah laughed loudly and shook her head.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note<em>

_Yay! This is my second Glee Project story. I have created all new personals for the characters. This has **NOTHING **to do with my other Glee Project story. It is completely unrelated. _

_I have also posted another new Glee Project story. It's called Shock Treatment. It's the Glee Project kids in the Rocky Horror Pciture Show. Again, it too is unrelated to this and my other Glee Project story._

_I have posted a new chapter on Glee Project: Live Out Loud._

_So go check out those and let me know what you think._

_Thanks_

_- Shelby_


	2. Chapter 2

"You have Chance." McKynleigh said, sitting down at the table in the cafeteria.

"…Really? I didn't know!" Samuel said, his eyes wide. "Sorry. I'm just tired."

"It's cool." McKynleigh said, poking at her food.

"What's her name?" Hannah asked.

"What's whose name?" McKynleigh said, trying to sound natural.

"What's the name of the girl you are now crushing on?" Hannah said.

"How do you know there's a girl?" she asked.

"Cause you're not into guys." Bryce said, dropping his tray on to the tabletop.

McKynleigh growled at him.

"Miki, you're my best friend. I can tell when you are diggin' someone." Hannah said. "So to cut down on a lot of unnecessary bullshit, tell me her name."

"Emily." McKynleigh said, defeated.

"Vasquez?" Bryce asked.

"The girl who were short skirts and corsets to school?" Hannah asked.

"I would call her a slut…but you know, I've never seen her with a guy." Samuel said.

"Exactly…so maybe…just maybe she's bats for my team." McKynleigh said, staring across the cafeteria.

Sitting at a table with another girl her age was Emily. She was wearing skintight black skinny jeans, a tight white t-shirt with a red bra underneath, black and red high heels and tight leather jacket.

"Do you like her just because there is a possibility that she bats for your team and is smoking hot?" Bryce asked.

"Or because of who she is?" Hannah finished.

"I have talked to her, I have gym with her. We're partners for rock climbing, which started yesterday. We talked, she seems really nice." McKynleigh sighed.

* * *

><p>Cameron sat down at the table and pulled his sack lunch out of his backpack.<p>

Marissa was already at their table by the window, staring at the lunch that sat before her, a peanut butter sandwich, a bag of purple grapes, a box of juice, a bag of four cookies.

Cameron dumped his lunch out, a peanut butter sandwich, a pudding cup, a can of pop, a bag of gold fish and a bag of carrot sticks.

"Eat, Rissa." Cameron said, popping the tab on his soda.

"I'm not really hungry. It's probably the cold." She said, zipping her hoodie.

"Then you should at least drink your juice and eat your cookies. You need something in your system." Cameron said, sounding like the school nurse.

"Since when are you so medically inclined?" she asked, sitting the straw in her juice box.

"…I watch a lot of medical shows." Cameron lied.

"Cammie… you don't look so hot…well, actually. You look really hot. Do you feel okay?" she asked.

Cameron shook his head and pushed his lunch aside. "I'm suddenly nauseous."

"There is the flu going around, you probably caught it yesterday, and it's just now hitting you. Let's get you to the nurse." Marissa packed her lunch up.

"I can go by myself…I don't even want to think about food. Help yourself to anything in my lunch." He said grabbing his backpack and walking away from their table.

Marissa sighed and ate five grapes and drank half her small juice box. She threw the rest of their food away and headed to the gym.

* * *

><p>"Nurse Kim…I don't feel too good." Cameron said, walking into the nurse's office.<p>

"Sit down. I'll take your temperature, Cameron." The nurse said, closing her book.

She stuck a digital thermometer under his tongue.

"One hundred on the dot. I'll call your mom, lie down and sleep. I'll wake you when she gets here."

Cameron laid down on the cot on the far side of the room. He rolled over so he was facing the wall and closed his eyes. A few minutes later he felt a blanket being put over him.

"Cameron, your mom will be here in about an hour. I just want to take your temperature again." The nurse said, rubbing his shoulder.

Cameron opened his mouth and closed it around the thermometer.

"One hundred and five?" she sounded alarmed. "Cameron, honey wake up. I'm going to call your mom again. Do you feel hot?"

Cameron shook his head and sat up.

Ten minutes later Elizabeth was signing papers releasing Cameron to go home.

"Come on, Cam-Cam. I'm taking you to the hospital." She said, putting her arm around his shoulders.

"Mama, I don't feel good." He whined.

"I know, baby." She sighed.

"Mama, am I gonna be okay?" Cameron asked, stopping in his tracks.

Elizabeth knew what her some meant.

"Mama…am I going into remission?" he asked.

"I don't know. And we aren't going to know until we get you to the hospital." She said, leading him into the cold.

* * *

><p>"Damian! I'm home." Shannon called as she walked through the front door of her house. "You awake, buddy?"<p>

She dropped her coat on the couch and headed upstairs. The attic stairs were down. She climbed into the attic. Damian was sitting on the far side of the attic, in his pajamas and his father's old letterman jacket, surrounded by yearbooks, pieces of paper, new paper clippings and photo albums.

"Hey buddy." She said, walking across the attic. The old floorboards creaked as she walked.

"Do you have any of my mom's stuff?" Damian asked, looking up at her. His eyes were red and puffy and his cheeks glistened with tears.

"I'll have your grandma send over some of your mother's old trunks." Shannon said, sitting down beside Damian.

Damian leaned into her. She put her arm her nephew's shoulders.

"What's going on here?" Damian asked, pointing at a photo of Shannon with red, white, and blue hair and a scowl.

"Me and Damian had a prank war going on from the time he was nine to my senior year in high school. I don't remember who started it. But I remember ever prank we pulled on each other. This was one of the firsts. He snuck into my room in the middle of the night and painted my hair with finger paint and vanilla pudding." She laughed, flipping the page in the photo album. "I remember one of the best pranks I pulled was his freshman year. Me and a few of my team mates from track and field stripped him down to his underwear, covered him in glue and feathers, taped his mouth shut, put a blind fold on him and tied him to a tree before gym class. The girl he likes at the time was in that gym class. We removed his blindfold as they came out. It was funny."

"Auntie Shannon, do you miss him?" Damian asked, his voice breaking.

"I miss my baby brother terribly, buddy. I also miss you mom. She was a wonderful woman. Kind hearted, loving, gentle. Everything my brother needed."

"I miss her." Damian said, his breath catching in his throat.

* * *

><p>"Lindsay! Open up! I gotta go!" her older brother Kevin yelled, pounding on the door.<p>

"Use the other bathroom, I'm busy!" she yelled back.

"Dad's in there! Come on! I gotta go!" he groaned, rested his head against the door.

"Go outside. I'm busy." She said.

Kevin groaned and ran out back.

Lindsay opened the door a crack and look around the hall. Kevin was gone. She sighed and went back to work. She closed the door tightly and slid the lock into place with a quiet click. She stared at herself in the mirror that covered the wall above the sink. Her hair was wet looking along her scalp and her shirt had purple stains on the shoulders and collar.

"Lindsay, it's Mom. Open up so we can talk." Kate said from the other side of the door.

Lindsay checked the timer on the counter, three minutes left. She opened the door and locked it again, once Kate was in the room.

"Honestly, Lindsay. I don't see why you go through the hassle of dying your hair every few weeks." Kate said, examining a box of black hair dye that sat on the counter.

"Mom, I'm blonde. You all have dark hair. I want to look like you. I just want to be your daughter." Lindsay said, turning the shower on.

"Oh baby. Nobody will care if they find out that you are—"

"Don't say it."

"Adopted. It's not like you've been lying about who you are."

"Yes I have. Since I was six, I've been lying to everyone. When people ask me whose daughter I am, I lie. When people ask if I'm Kevin's little sister, I lie." Tears were forming slowly in her blue eyes.

"You don't lie about who you are. You are mine and your father's daughter. You are Kevin's sister." Kate reached out for a hug.

The time started beeping.

"I have to rinse." Lindsay said stepping out of her mother's reach.

She killed the timer and pulled her shirt off.

Kate sighed and walked out of the bathroom.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note<em>

_Damian, I'm sorry! I just realized that I keep abusing Damian. In _Desperado _I killed his parents and gave him custody of his siblings. In _Glee Project: Live Out Loud_ I divorced his parents, moved him halfway across the world, sprained his knee to great extent, and made his parents ignore him. In _The Runaways_ I basically kicked him out of his country. And here, I killed his parents **again**. I am sorry, Damo._

_I hope you liked the second chapter. Does anyone have any idea what's going on with the people yet? =) I hope so. Let me know what you think._

_Thanks._

_- Shelby_


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm going to school, Dad." Ellis said, shouldering her backpack.

"I can give you a ride." He said.

Ellis shook her head. "I can walk. It's not too far. Bye, Collin. Bye, Britton."

She walked out of the motel room and into the cold.

The walk to school from the motel they stayed at to the school was normally a fifteen minute walk, but the snow added another ten minutes.

Ellis pushed open the front door to the school and stomped the snow off her worn boots. She ditched her patched coat, and old backpack in her locker.

The school was empty so she wasn't embarrassed to walk into the councilors office.

"Good morning Ms. Pillsbury." She said, sitting down in one of the chairs.

"Good morning, Ellis. Have you eaten?" she asked.

"Kind of. I grabbed an apple off the front desk." She replied, still slightly embarrassed to talk to someone about her family's problems.

Ms. Pillsbury reached into her desk and pulled out a box of granola bars. She held the box out to Ellis who took one.

"How are your brother and sister?" she asked, setting the box on the edge of the desk incase Ellis wanted another one.

"Collin has gotten a cold, and he's had to stay…out of school for the past few days. I know he hates being stuck in that small room. Britton has grown another two inches and is getting too big for her clothes."

"Well…I have two nieces, and I know you don't want the charity, but with the snow and everything, and Britton growing, you are going to take the bag of clothes, whether you like it or not." Ms. Pillsbury said.

Ellis smiled shyly. "Thank you…can I come after school and get it once everyone is gone?"

"Of course. I'll give you a ride back to where you are staying if that would be easier for you." She volunteered.

"That'd be good. Dad hates when they are alone." Ellis said, standing up.

She turned for the door, but grabbed another granola bar from the box.

* * *

><p>"Buddy, wearing that jacket to school probably isn't the best idea." Shannon said, pulling her jacket on. "Kennedy is a rival school."<p>

"I don't care. I'm already the new student with a weird accent." Damian stumbled over the words as they came out. "I don't care if they think I go to the rival school. It's my dad and I wanna wear. You can't tell me not too. Just because you're my guardian, doesn't mean you're my mom."

Shannon held her hands up in a sign of peace. "I'm not telling you you can't wear it. I was just warning you. Come on, let's get to school."

"It doesn't start for another twenty minutes." He said.

"It'll take a little longer with the snow, and as staff, I need to be their earlier." She put her hand on Damian's back and pushed him out the door.

Damian flinched as a cold wind smacked him in the face, making his cheeks burn and his eyes water.

"I hate the cold." He said, climbing into his aunt's car.

* * *

><p>Cameron sat criss cross on his hospital bed, in his pajamas. He had an IV hooked up to the back of his left hand. The TV was on but he wasn't paying attention to the stupid kid's show that played. His mother was out of the room talking to the doctor. He dry heaved over the garbage can beside his bed, nothing came up.<p>

He laid down on the thin sheets and pulled out his cell phone.

"Call Marissa." He said into the speaker.

"Calling Marissa." An automated voice said.

The number dialed and the phone ran.

"What do you want? Are you coming to school today? Where are you? Are you okay?" Marissa said.

"I'm not coming to school today, take notes for me. We have most of the same classes." He said.

"Where are you? Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm at the hospital. I was dehydrated and I needed to be put on an IV. I'll be okay in a few days." He lied. "I gotta go, I'm not supposed to be on my phone."

He hung up before Marissa would ask any more questions.

His mom walked back into the room with the doctor.

"Well?" Cameron asked, sitting up.

"Cameron…we're going to be going to Cleveland for a little while." Elizabeth said.

The doctor walked over and started taking his IV out.

"Mom, I don't want to go." Cameron said, watching his tears splash on to his Cat in the Hat pajama bottoms. "I thought I was better."

"Baby, baby. I know." Elizabeth sat down on the bed and hugged her youngest son.

"Mama, I've been sick for ten year. Don't you think that's long enough?" he whimpered into her shoulder.

"Honey, I know it's been hard on you. In and out of the hospital ever few weeks since you were five. It's going to be hard. But you just have to stay strong." She said, rubbing his back.

"Why me?" he asked. "Why not James or Austin or someone not in our family?"

"Baby, I wish I could tell you why it has to be you. But we better get going if we want to beat traffic. We have to get home and tell Daddy and pack a few bags." She said, pulling away. "Okay?"

Cameron nodded, his lower lip trembling.

* * *

><p>Bryce walked into the room beside his and picked a two-year-old up out of the crib. The child was still half asleep.<p>

Bryce laid him down on the changing table and started changing is diaper.

The toddler opened his eyes and smiled up at Bryce.

"Hi, Charlie." He said, fastening the onesie.

"Dada!" Charlie cried.

Bryce stood Charlie up on the changing table and tousled his brown hair. He put his son into a pair of blue sweatpants and carried him into the kitchen. He set Charlie down in his high chair and dumped some dry Fruit Loops onto the tray.

"Mom, I'm running late. Can you please take Charlie to daycare for me?" Bryce asked.

"I guess. You have to pick him up though." She said.

"Got it. Thanks." He kissed his mom on the cheek.

He grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table and kissed Charlie.

"Bye Charlie." He said.

"Bye Daddy." Charlie cooed.

Bryce grabbed his coat, car keys and backpack and headed out the door.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note<em>

_Sorry that it's kind of short. I'm still introducing the people. I will use all the characters in this story and they all ahve amazing back stories and parts to play. No I do not have the _Glee _cast kids in this one. They have all graduated. Mr. Schue is trying to get a glee club together again though. Just a little tid bit that I thought you should know._

_Once all the characters are introduced, which I think will happen in the next chapter, things will get better. As you can tell it's about late November, I don't know why I started it there. I think it's because I wanted school to be in session for a while, so clicks were formed and routines were established before the drama hits._

_Do you guys like it so far? And more reviews = more chapters quicker. So, review. Lol._

_It might take a little while because I have been babysitting my neice and nephew a lot lately. But I will update if you read._

_Thanks._

_- Shelby_


	4. Chapter 4

Lindsay walked into her first hour English class and sat down at her table. The seat next to hers had been empty since the beginning of the year. Now a boy in a Kennedy High letterman jacket sat there. He hadn't noticed Lindsay sit down. He was too busy an X-Men comic book and listening to his iPod, rather loudly. Lindsay could hear a Coldplay song blasting from the tiny speakers.

Lindsay took the opportunity to check him out. He was rather tall, his legs stretched out in the isle. His hair was black and messy. She could only his profile but got a glimpse of his soft blue eyes. They were full of pain.

It was something Lindsay was good at, reading even the slightest emotions on someone's face.

He was wearing dark jeans, a black t-shirt, green Converse, and a rival school letterman jacket.

Mr. Schue walked into the classroom and leaned against the front desk.

"Buenos dias, clase." He said. "I trust you all did your homework and are ready for the quiz today."

"What?" Samuel yelled from the front of the classroom.

"I'm kidding. There is no test." Mr. Schue said. "Today we will be starting our country projects. The other person at your table will be your partner. Pick a Spanish speaking country; learn about its history, culture, the current government, and any other important thing about it. In two weeks you will be presenting."

Lindsay tapped the boy on the arm. He looked over at her, pulling his earphones out.

"Time to do work." She said, setting her Spanish textbook on the desk. "We're doing a project about a Spanish speaking country. I am your partner, Lindsay."

"Damian." He said quietly, in an Irish accent.

"What country would you like to do?" she asked, flipping through her book.

"I don't really care." Damian said, turning back to his comic book. "Argentina."

Lindsay snatched his comic away. "Don't think I am going to do the whole presentation and let you put your name on it. You're doing some of the work too."

"I never said I wouldn't." Damian said. "Now can I have that back? It's rare."

Lindsay dropped the comic in front of Damian.

"What's your story?" she asked. "You're clearly not from around here, but you have a jacket from the rival school."

"Yeah, I was born and raised in Ireland and this is my dad's jacket."

"Did your dad like want to move back because he missed Lima or something?"

"…Sure…let's just get to work." He said, rubbing his eyes.

Lindsay started writing what she knew about Peru into her notebook. She glanced over at Damian when she heard music.

He was hunched over his notebook writing furiously, his iPod was back on. He looked like he had just been stabbed in the stomach.

* * *

><p>Ellis walked into her class and sat down in her chair next to her best friend, Matheus. He was sitting criss cross in his seat, like most days. Ellis did the same thing.<p>

"I hate this class." Matheus mumbled, resting his head on the table.

"Why?" Ellis asked.

"Carlos and Manuel both had this teacher. She sent home a note to my mom about how I'm getting bad grades, which it's only a C, and I am not good with number. She's only saying that because of my brothers." Matheus griped.

"The curse of being the youngest." Ellis said.

"You wouldn't know. You're the oldest."

"What's your point?" Ellis joked.

Matheus cracked a smile.

* * *

><p>"You should just ask her out." Hannah said, watching McKynleigh stare at Emily from across the lunchroom. "You'll never know if you don't try. Right guys?"<p>

"Oh hell yeah." Bryce said. "My life would have sucked if I never asked Payton out."

"But you also wouldn't have Charlie." McKynleigh pointed out.

"Which would suck." Bryce said.

"Just ask her out." Hannah said.

McKynleigh bit her lip.

Samuel stood up and pulled his friend to her feet.

"Okay. Okay. I'll do it." McKynleigh said.

McKynleigh walked across the crowded cafeteria and stood in front of Emily's table. She was talking to a bunch of other sophomores.

"Hi McKynleigh." Marissa, a Cheerio from her chemistry class said.

"What's up dyke?" a girl in a Cheerios uniform said.

Marissa glared at her. The girl shut her mouth but kept staring daggers at McKynleigh.

"What's up?" Marissa asked.

"I wanted to talk to Emily." She said.

"She's not interested in becoming a lesbian." The Cheerio said.

"Shut up, Kate." Emily said. "What's up, Miki?"

"You want to go to the movies with me tonight?"

"Like on a date?" Emily asked.

Kate cackled. McKynleigh nodded.

"Sure." Emily said.

Kate's jaw dropped.

"Pick me up around seven." Emily smiled.

"Got it." McKynleigh said.

She turned and headed back to her table.

"Well?" Hannah prodded.

"I got a date tonight." She said.

Hannah screamed and hugged her.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note.<em>

_Sorry it's short. I'm having a little writers block. I will be writing more soon. I just needed to get Miki and Emily's date planned. The next chapter will be centered around Cameron and Miki/Emily._

_I just realized, it's four chapters in and Glee Club hasn't started yet...I need to talk to Mr. Schue. Glee club will start up soon. I promise._

_I hope you liked it. If you want more soon, review. More reviews equals more chapters._

_Oh and before I go. I was thinking about writing a new story. It's a Damian/Lindsay love story type fic. What do you guys think?_

_Let me know._

_Thanks._

_- Shelby_


	5. Chapter 5

Cameron sat down on his bed and looked around his room. It was the room he had had since he was born. The walls were painted white but mostly covered by posters, pictures, and a bunch of other random things he and Marissa had put up over the years. His desk was covered in Dr. Who, Mario, and Sonic toys. He had a TV sitting on his dresser. His bed was unmade and had a few old stuffed animals tangled in the covers.

"Cameron. It's time to go." Elizabeth said, standing in the doorway.

"I don't want to." He sighed.

"I know baby. Believe me, I don't want to do this either. But we have to." She said, picking up his duffle bag.

Cameron nodded and pulled his sneakers on. He grabbed his backpack and pillow.

He climbed into the front seat of their red mini van and put his headphones on.

"Cameron, I know you don't want to do this, but you have to." Elizabeth said. "Call up Marissa, talk to her."

"Marissa is in school…and she doesn't really know. Nobody does."

Elizabeth shook her head and focused on the road.

* * *

><p>Marissa walked down the hallway wondering what was going on with Cameron. She stopped, like always, at the bulletin board. A dozen new girls had signed up to try out for the Cheerios. Right beside the Cheerios try out sheet was a new sign up sheet. It was for glee club. It had a few names on the list.<p>

Lindsay Pearce

_Hannah Mclalwain_

_Alex Newell_

Ellis Wylie

Marissa recognized Lindsay's name. They had Spanish class together. The others she figured were all different grades.

Marissa tapped her red Sharpie against her thigh, debating whether or not to sigh up. She had always loved singing. For hours her and Cameron used to sing along to her iPod in her room. She wished Cameron was with her to sign up.

She uncapped the Sharpie and wrote her name at the bottom of the list.

* * *

><p>"Shouldn't you be in class?" Shannon asked, standing beside Damian.<p>

He was lying across Shannon's desk, staring at the ceiling.

"I don't wanna." Damian muttered.

"Why not?" she asked, sitting down in her chair. She noticed that Damian had piled all the things that were on her desk behind it.

"I wanna go home." He pouted, his eyebrows knitting together. "You said I had to try school…well I tried it. Now I wanna go home."

Damian sat up and looked at her.

He had lost weight over the few months he had been living with her. Even though his shirt was only a medium, his hung baggy on him. He was pale, like he hadn't seen sunlight in years. He had dark circle under his glassy, bloodshot eyes.

"I wanna go home. Please?" He said, his voice dying at the end before the end of his sentence.

Tears were slowly building in his eyes.

"Buddy, don't cry." She said hugging him.

"I just want to go home, where I can hide from the world under my covers." Damian mumbled.

The football team walked into the locker room, talking and laughing.

"Who's the kid, Coach Beiste?" Sam Evens asked.

"My nephew." Shannon said, pulling away from Damian. "Go to the weight room, start working out. I'll be there soon."

The football team filed out.

"Auntie Shannon, can I please go home?" Damian asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I'll can't leave yet…I'll get Will to take you…you have your key right?" she asked.

Damian nodded.

"Go get your things and then to the choir room. He'll take you home." Shannon said, walking away.

* * *

><p>"Samuel Larsen to the front office please." The loud speaker said.<p>

"Ooooh." Hannah and Bryce teased.

"Shut up." Samuel laughed.

He pushed himself up off the art room floor and walked down to the office.

"Hello Samuel." Ms. Oh said. "We just got a call from Hendrickson…Michael is sick."

Samuel groaned loudly and fell against the counter. "It had to be one of the younger ones. IS someone taking her home?"

"Yes, Ms. Jessica, the nurse is driving her home now. Go home. I'll have Hannah bring you your homework later." Ms. Oh said.

Samuel ran to his locker and grabbed his coat.

A red car was sitting in front of his house when he got home.

"Hi, Ms. Jessica." Samuel said, opening the back door.

Michael was sitting there, looking paler then usual holding her stomach.

"I think it's the flu. You could wait it out, but it would be the best to take her to the clinic." Ms. Jessica said.

Samuel nodded and picked Michael up. He threw her Hello Kitty backpack over his shoulder and headed up the driveway.

He set Michael on the couch and pulled her shoes and coat off. He tossed her backpack and his jacket in a chair and picked Michael up again. She turned green and threw up down the front of his pale pink button up.

"Ugh! Michael!" he yelled.

"I'm sorry." She said, quietly.

"It's okay. It was an accident." He said, setting her back down.

He walked into the bathroom and pulled his shirts off. He quickly wiped his chest off and went back into the living room.

He carried Michael upstairs and helped her change into her pajamas.

"Go to sleep. If you need anything holler." He said, putting a bucket by her head.

Samuel headed down stairs and into the bathroom. He took off the rest of his clothes and stepped into the shower.

* * *

><p>"Hey Miki!" Emily said, pulling her coat on.<p>

"I thought I was going to pick you up later." McKynleigh said, as the two walked outside.

"I figured we could go get a burger or something before the movie." Emily smiled.

"Sure. I have a car, so whatever you want is good." McKynleigh said.

The two climbed into McKynleigh's old, green junker car. Fifteen minutes they were walking into a diner.

McKynleigh slid into the leather booth and shrugged out of her coat. Emily slid in next to her, sitting so close their knees touched.

McKynleigh's heart fluttered.

* * *

><p>Ellis pushed open the door to the hotel room. Everything was how it was when she left. Their small amount of clothes had erupted from their suitcases and were scattered all about the room. Britton and Collin's toys were all over. The two beds were unmade and the desk was covered in her school supplies. Cardboard boxes they hadn't yet taken to the pawnshop sat line up along the wall, taking up a lot of space in the tiny hotel room.<p>

The TV played some stupid cartoon that Ellis hated. Collin lay in his and the dad's bed, clutching his stuffed monkey to his chest.

Ellis dropped the bag of clothes on the floor and took off her coat.

"Hey, bubba." She said, walking over to him. "How you feeling?"

"Not good." He sighed, rubbing his eyes.

Ellis laid her hand across his forehead. "You aren't too warm. I think you're getting better."

Collin nodded.

Ellis flopped down on her and her sister's bed. Britton was buried under the covers. Ellis pulled the covers down and looked at her little sister.

"You should still be at school…what are you doing back here?" she asked, pushing Britton's bangs out of her eyes.

Her forehead was warm.

"Daddy came and got me. I'm sick." She said.

Ellis nodded, clenching her jaw. The last thing they needed was for Britton to be sick too. Whenever she got sick, she would be down for days, sometimes even having to go to the hospital.

"I'll take care of you. Don't worry." Ellis sighed, rubbing her little sister's back. "It'll all be fine."

* * *

><p><em>Author's note<em>

_I finally updated! This chapter took forEVER to write. I knew exactly what was going to happen...I just couldn't put it into words. Sorry it took so long._

_I have also updated _Project 17_ and _The Runaways _for those of you who care._

_I want 30 reviews before I post the next chapter. Thanks! =D_

_- Shelby_


	6. Chapter 6

"I thought you said after five years, if I didn't go into remission, I would be better." Cameron snapped at his old doctor.

"Cancer is tricky, Cameron." Dr. Baker said, sitting down on the edge of Cameron's bed. "There is always a slight chance of remission, even if you have been cancer free for years."

"Is it terminal?" Elizabeth asked.

"Can I talk to you in the hall?" She said, standing up. "We'll get you into chemo in about an hour."

Cameron flopped back on his bed as his mother and the doctor talked outside.

He looked around. He was in such a child's room. Dinosaurs were painted on one wall and there was a toy box filled with children's toys in the corner.

"Is this my permanent room?" Cameron hollered out.

"No. Another patient will check out tomorrow, and once we clean out their side of the room you will be moved up there." Dr. Baker said, leaning into the room.

"I'm gonna have a roommate. This just keeps getting better and better." Cameron groaned, pulling a pillow over his face. It smelt like Clorox bleach and peroxide, a smell combination Cameron was all too used to.

"No you will not have a roommate, but you might later on. It's a two people, teenager type room. Videogames. DVD player. It'll be better then this room." She said, walking out.

"Cameron, honey. You're father just called." Elizabeth said, walking into his room and grabbing her purse.

"Who's in the hospital?" Cameron asked. "Let me guess Austin fell down the stairs? Or was it on a patch of ice?"

"Austin slipped on a hill on a patch of ice. He hit a tree and broke his femur bone."

"Dang." Cameron muttered.

"He is going into surgery in about fifteen minutes. I will send James up here if that's okay?" she said, pulling her coat on. "I am so sorry I have to leave you."

"It's cool. Let me know when he's out of surgery. And I don't care if you send James or not." He said.

"I love you honey." She said, kissing him.

"You too." He said, watching her walk out of his room.

He sighed and kicked his blanket off.

"Hey doc!" he yelled.

A pretty nurse with long, skinny blonde hair and blue scrubs was in his room in a matter of seconds.

"Do you know how sick I am?" he asked.

"Yes. I am one of your nurses. I'm Jane." She smiled.

"Hi Jane. I'm Cameron Mitchell. I have cancer. But I'm pretty sure you already knew all that." Cameron said, not really caring what he said. "Let's cut to it. What are the odds?"

She gave him a fake confused look.

"What are the odds of me dying? They never tell me. But I'm fifteen. I have the right to know if I'm gonna die." He snapped.

"Fifty, fifty." She said.

Cameron slouched back against his pillows, at a loss for words.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked.

Cameron shook his head.

* * *

><p>"That was fun." McKynleigh smiled as she parked in front of Emily's house.<p>

The house looked dark and lonely.

"Is anybody home?" McKynleigh asked.

"I doubt it. My father is dead and my mom works the nightshifts in Westerville." Emily sighed. "But, I had a good time too. I wish it didn't have to end."

"Maybe it doesn't have too." She smiled mischievously.

Emily smiled back, catching on to what McKynleigh was implying.

* * *

><p>"Dad, are you looking for a house? Or an apartment?" Ellis asked, walking out into the outdoor hallway. "Anything would be better then this hotel room."<p>

"There are only so many places on the market Ellis." Her dad, Jim said puffing his cigarette.

Ellis rolled her eyes and walked down the stairs to ground level.

"Where are you going?" Jim yelled.

"For a walk." Ellis yelled back.

Ellis walked down the street, looking at all the houses. Some people had already put up their Christmas lights.

After wandering aimlessly through the streets of Lima, she stopped in front of one house and stared in the front window. There wasn't anything special about this house. It was an ordinary house with an attached garage.

A boy sat on the couch in the dark living room. A TV shone light around the room and on his pale face. He looked vaguely familiar. He probably went to school with her.

She sighed and kept walking. She pulled her hoodie tighter around her and leaned into the cold wind.

She wished she had brought her coat.

She wished she had a place to call her home.

She wished she had her own bedroom.

She wished she didn't have to share a bed with her little sister.

She wished her mother never walked out on them.

She wished her father wasn't such a dead beat.

She wished she were old enough to buy her own place.

She wished most of the time, knowing that it was impossible to change the past and hard to change the future if you were only fourteen years old but looked much much younger.

* * *

><p>"Dinner was good Mom." Marissa said, putting the last of the dishes into the dishwasher.<p>

"Thank you sweetie." Her mom, Amber smiled kissing her forehead. "I have to cover a coworkers shift down at the hospital, do you think that you can get Melissa into bed?"

"She's two, Mom. I can handle her." Marissa said, walking her mother to the front door.

"I should be home late, around one. Don't wait up."

Marissa nodded and locked the door behind her mom.

She walked through the living room. Melissa was sitting on the sofa watching a cartoon.

"Rissy watch too?" She asked as Marissa passed in front of the TV.

"Rissy has to go potty. But I'll watch when I get back." She said, walking up stairs.

She locked the bathroom door and pushed her shirt up. Turning to the side, she looked in the mirror. Her stomach looked a little bigger from the big pasta dinner her mom had made. She could still taste the garlic and basil on her tongue.

She pushed her shirt down and stepped on to the scale. She watched with a grimace as the green, digital numbers slowly rose and stopped on one twelve.

Marissa groaned and stepped off the scale. She had to skipped Cheerio's practice that morning because her mom wasn't home in time for her to leave, and it was showing. She had gained two whole pounds!

She knelt down in front of the toilet, closed her eyes and stuck her finger down her throat.

* * *

><p>Samuel lay on his living room floor. It was about nine at night. Diana was sitting on the couch watching a stupid game show. Chance was sitting on his stomach rolling at car of his stomach. The other girls were upstairs.<p>

Samuel had been busy. His parents hadn't been home in almost two days. Michael and Angel both had the flu and Chance was getting a cold.

He closed his eyes, wanting five minutes of rest before he had to clean up the girls and put Chance to bed.

A knock on the door prevented him from doing so. He screamed and stood up, forgetting that Chance was sitting on him. The five year old fell to the ground and started wailing. Samuel contemplated calming him down, but Chance was autistic, and it was hard to get him to stop screaming some times. He walked into the kitchen and answered the door instead.

"What do you want?" he asked before he realized it was Hannah. "Hey baby." He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"I brought you a cupcake." She said, holding out the sweet. "And Chance is screaming."

"Thank you." Samuel said taking the small chocolate cake. He licked the pink icing off the top and set the cupcake on the counter. "I know. It was my fault. I'm gonna try and calm him down."

"Let me do it. You clean up the girls." Hannah said walking into the living room.

Samuel shrugged, wanting to tell her it was harder then climbing to the top of the Empire State Building, but Hannah was stubborn. Once she set her mind to something, she was going to make it happen no matter what. And she had been around Chance since he was born, she could handle him for a minute.

Samuel was helping Michael change pajamas when he realized the house was quiet. He quickly tucked Michael in and went down stairs.

Hannah was sitting in a chair with Chance in her arms. He was quiet and content playing with her shiny owl necklace.

"Well, I'll be a son of a bitch." He muttered staring at his girlfriend.

"You are." Diana said.

"Go to bed." He said, pushing her towards the stairs.

He walked across the living room and leaned over Hannah's chair.

"You…are awesome." He said, kissing her on the lips.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note<em>

_I am so sorry I didn't get this to you sooner. I was babysitting my niece and nephew when I got 30 reviews. I would have loved to write and post, but they are a handful._

_I hope you liked it. I finally answered the big question. What's wrong with Cameron? I realize I haven't mention Alex except for that he signed up for glee club. His arc hasn't come up yet. But it will get there. Same thing with Bryce._

**_HEY! READ THIS!_**

_I have written a new story that I am really, really proud of. It is not _Glee_ or _Glee Project_. It is my other favorite show, _Falling Skies_. I am obsessed with that show, and would really love it and appericate it if you checked it out, read it. Reviewed it. Subscribed to it. I will post another two chapters in _**Glee Project: Live Out Loud**_ (which I am having writers block for, that is the only reason I haven't written for it) if I get five reviews for _Please Don't Be Scared_. But, they have to be genuine reviews, no write mores or update soon. Those can be in the comments , but I would really like you to read it. Please, guys. I am really proud of _Please Don't Be Scared_, I want you to read it._

**_If I get the reviews for _Please Don't Be Scared _I will sit myself down at my computer and I won't get up until I have two, good, long chapters written for _Glee Project: Live Out Loud_._**

_Thank you so much for doing that, if you did._

_Thanks for reading this._

_- Shelby_


	7. Chapter 7

Damian sat against the wall in the cafeteria. He was still the new kid so he didn't have a table to sit at, and he was okay with that. He was fine being unknown. People didn't ask questions if they didn't know him. Most people seemed like they didn't want to get to know him. He was the kid who sat in the back of the classroom, listening to his iPod. The teachers left him alone as long as he did his work. They only did that because they knew who his auntie was and they knew what had happened to him.

Damian didn't like that aspect. Most people thought he wasn't right in the head because the teachers never singled him out for reading and just let him sit there. Others didn't know if he could talk. He had been at school for over a week and the only person he spoke to was Lindsay from his Spanish class and that was only once.

Kids knew he hung out with Coach Beiste a lot. There were all sorts of things going around about why he was always with her. Some said that he was in love with her. Other said that he was the football teams new secret weapon. Most people argued that one because Damian was rather skinny seeing as he hasn't eaten much since his parents passed.

A boy with dreadlocks looked at Damian and said something. Damian's music was going to loud for him to hear, but he didn't care what the boy was saying. The boy gently smacked Damian's knee, getting his attention. He pulled out his earbuds and looked at the boy.

"You have blood on your shirt." He said.

Damian looked down the front of his black Pink Floyd t-shirt.

"Not there. Your sleeve." The boy said.

He looked at the sleeves of his white thermal. Sure enough, on his left sleeve, spots of blood were on the inside of his arm, near his wrist.

"Oh." He said, putting his stained sleeve across his stomach, hiding it from everybody.

"What happened?" a darked skinned girl with spiked black hair asked.

"My nose was bleeding earlier." Damian lied.

"You want to sit with us?" a boy with a blue beanie and olive skin asked.

Damian shrugged.

"Come on, eat with us." The boy with dreads urged.

Damian stood up and sat down at one of the empty chairs at the table.

There were two other girls and a kid in a stroller at the table. One girl was heavy and had red hair. The other had long black hair and a big chest; she was holding the dark skinned girl's hand.

"I'm Samuel." The boy with dreads said. "This is my girlfriend Hannah." The big girl with red hair. "This is my little brother, Chance. His school was closed again and there is no one to watch him."

The kid in the stroller was fast asleep. He looked a lot like Samuel. Same brown eyes, same color hair although his was short and very straight.

"I'm Bryce." The other boy said.

"I'm McKynleigh. Yes like our school, but most people I know call me Miki." The dark skinned girl said. "And this is my girlfriend Emily."

"Damian." He said quietly, his shyness taking over.

"What grade you in?" McKynleigh asked.

"Tenth." He said quietly.

"Same as me. We have gym together." Emily smiled.

"We're all juniors." Bryce said speaking for the rest of the table.

They spent the rest of lunch telling Damian about the kids in the school he should and shouldn't be friends with. The girls he shouldn't even think about dating and the guys whose paths he shouldn't think about crossing.

Damian intending on staying a shadow to most of the other kids in school, so he wasn't worried when they told him about the "ass hole football players" and which "bitchy, slutty, Cheerios" to stay away from.

"Walk with me to gym?" Emily asked.

"Okay." Damian said, scratching his left arm.

The two walked down the hall, Emily pointing at and talking about posters that hung on the wall. The school play that was coming up was going to be "awesome" because she was the female lead. The Cheerios assembly that was the next day was going to be "flashy, yet annoyingly good as usual."

They parted ways at the locker rooms. Emily made him promise to wait for her if he finished changing before him, and she would wait for him if she finished changing first, that way they could walk to the gym together.

Damian pulled his gym clothes out of his locker and dropped them on the bench. He hung his backpack up and pulled his t-shirt off. He tossed it in the bottom of his locker and pulled on the standard issue gray t-shirt on. The only thing that made it personal was his last name printed under McKinley High Phy. Ed Department on the front. He exchanged his jeans for baggy navy nylon shorts and pulled his black Pumas back on.

He locked his locker and walked to the bathrooms. He locked himself in a stall and pulled up the sleeve of the thermal left on. A series of cuts ran from his wrist to his inner elbow. He cursed himself for wearing a white shirt.

Emily was waiting in the hallway for him when he walked out of the locker room. She was wearing a shirt like his; only hers fit her, short navy cotton booty shorts, knee high white socks and black Converse sneakers.

"You're still wearing your undershirt." She said, plucked the fabric on his arm.

"I'm cold." Damian said, only half lying.

Emily nodded and took Damian's hand, half pulling him to the gym.

* * *

><p>Cameron lay in a soft, over sized, off white leather chair, wearing jeans and a pair of bright green socks. A thick white blanket was draped over his legs and a pillow was in between him and the armrest of the chair. A small, pale pink, plastic bucket sat on the table beside his chair. An IV was attached to the crock of his left arm.<p>

Since Elizabeth was back in Lima with Austin, James was with Cameron. He was sitting in the chair next to his little brother's reading a _Sports Illustrated _magazine. Looking at them, you wouldn't guess that they were brothers. James had over grown brown hair and bright blue eyes, was tall and more muscular then Cameron, from years of wrestling.

"I bet you won't make it till three before you toss your cookies." The girl sitting across the room from him said. "I'm Heather by the way."

"I'm Cameron." He said, leaning back in his chair. "I bet I will."

Both of them looked at the clock. It was five till three.

Heather and Cameron were the only two in the chemotherapy room getting treatment. There was a nurse sitting at a desk by the door and James.

"You're on." Heather said looking at the clock. "What you got?"

"Leukemia. You?"

Heather held up a finger and breathed deeply, it was clear she was trying not to throw up.

She was sitting in the same kind of chair Cameron was and covered by the same type of blanket. She was wearing a long red t-shirt and that was it. She had dirty blonde hair and green eyes. Her IV was hooked up to the port in her chest instead of in her arm. Cameron knew by the port that she had been in remission for a while.

Cameron hoped that he would get better quickly and wouldn't have to have a port put back in. but he knew better then to believe that. He knew that in a few days he would get a port put back in.

"I have the same." She said, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes.

Cameron opened his mouth to ask her how old she was but his stomach lurched. He grabbed the bucket and threw up.

James jumped up and rubbing his back till he was finished throwing up a full thirty seconds later.

"You don't have to do this Jamie." Cameron said, putting the bucket back on the table. "I know it's gross."

"You're my little brother, I'd do anything for you." James said, wiping Cameron's face with a cool washcloth.

"I told you you wouldn't last until three." Heather said.

He groaned in response, closing his eyes.

The nurse walked over and unhooked Heather from her IV. She set a new bucket beside Cameron and took the other one away.

Heather kissed Cameron's cheek and dropped something in his lap before walking up.

He opened is eyes and looked at what she dropped. It was a pack of spearmint gum. He picked it up and saw her phone number written on the front of it.

"I think you got yourself an admirer." James said, sitting down on the armrest of Cameron's chair.

Cameron set the gum on the table and rolled on to his side, to tired and weak to care at them moment.

"It'll be over soon." He said, rubbing Cameron's bare back.

Cameron was freezing. James reached down and pulled his blankets up.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note<em>

_Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been away from my computer for like a week, camping. It was awesome. I was surprised how many reviews I had when I came back. Thank you guys so much for that._

_Centra Damian because for two chapters I have left out Damian._

_Does anyone know what's going on with Damian? What about with Cameron?_

_Let me know of you know! =D_

_I'll update soon._

_Thanks._

_- Shelby_


	8. Chapter 8

"Marissa you look good."

"Have you lost weight Marissa?"

"What's your secret?"

"You look skinnier Marissa."

"Looking good Rissa."

Marissa smiled as she changed into her street clothes after Cheerio's practice. Coach Sylvester had put all the Cheerio's on a diet for the new routine that involved a lot of throwing people around. All the girls were complaining because they couldn't loose the weight as fast as she wanted.

Marissa was happy that her stomach was flat. She was happy that she wasn't being classed fat anymore like when she was in the fifth grade.

* * *

><p>Samuel sat on the edge of his weigh bench doing bicep curls with ten pound weights. The girls had gotten better and his mom, Donna, had finally come home. She was doing stairs in the kitchen yelling at Michael because she had spilt juice on the kitchen table.<p>

Samuel picked up his stereo remote and turned the volume to drone out their noise.

He was finally getting back into his work out when someone started pounding on his door. Samuel set his weights down and pulled his pink hoodie on. He flipped his lights off and pushed open his window. He threw his legs over the windowpane and jumped, landing in a pile of snow that went up to his knees.

He knew the walk to McKynleigh's like the back of his hand. He had been hiding at her house ever since Ginny was born with red hair and green eyes.

Nobody really understood the significance of the way Samuel and his siblings looked. Ginny was a curly red haired, green-eyed girl with light skin. Diana was light blonde with blue eyes and fair skin skin. Angel had black hair, ice blue eyes that looked practically evil and olive skinned. Michael had long light brown hair, dark blue eyes like the ocean and fair skinned. Chance and Samuel were the only ones who looked like siblings. They had the same medium skin tone, dark eyes and black hair. The only difference was that Samuel's hair was in dreadlocks and Chance's was straight and he had a cowlick.

Samuel hated his mother. She was a dirty, fat, lazy, cheating whore! Samuel couldn't understand why his dad was still with her. He had once told Samuel it was because she was good in bed. Judging by how many guys who have left the house when Samuel was just waking up, she should be. Donna was a bitch. She was hardly ever home, and when she was home she was usually yelling. She got herself knocked up by so many different doctors, and Samuel knew for a fact that she had been pregnant more then six times. Seeing as he was the only one with a car, he had driven her to a building complex at least three times since he got his car and license. She always said it was because her chiropractor worked in the building, but Samuel wasn't stupid. He could read the sign clear as day. Abortionist.

Samuel had a theory that he was sure that ninety-nine point nine percent true. His mother never wanted kids. For the six that she had she found out she was pregnant too late and couldn't have an abortion. The only reason she didn't put them up for adoption is because of her sister, Rachel.

Rachel was nine years older then Donna and the best person in the world in Samuel's eyes. She took the kids in ever weekend and break. She fed them well and made sure that Samuel had time to just be a kid. She was the reason, he figured, that he was and his siblings weren't put up for adoption. She refused to let her sister pass her mistakes on to other people.

Samuel didn't bother knocking on McKynleigh's door when he climbed the steps to her house. He just pushed the door open and walked in. Her mom Kate and her dad Joe were sitting in the living room with McKynleigh's little brother, Dougie. They were all playing the Wii.

"Hello, Samuel." Kate said as he kicked off his boots.

He mumbled a hi and continued up the stairs to McKynleigh's room. He pushed open the door and was hit by a blast of cold air. No matter what the weather was outside, McKynleigh had a window open.

Miki was lying on her bed in her pajama shirt, legs covered by a quilt, reading a magazine.

Samuel groaned dramatically and did a face plant on her bed. He landed with his face on her lower stomach, one leg hanging off her queen sized bed and the rest of him beside her.

"Go to sleep, kiddo." She said, not looking up from her magazine.

Samuel rolled over, and climbed under the covers next to her.

McKynleigh only had a few months on Samuel but she always called him kiddo. Samuel was allowed to act like the child that he never got to be around her. She babied him and he was okay with that.

* * *

><p>Damian lay on the carpet in his bedroom. Even with the door closed he could smell the roast chicken Shannon was cooking for dinner.<p>

There was a dull sting in Damian's left arm. The blood had dried but he still felt the painful tingle.

It was nothing new to Damian, being numb. He had been numb since he left Ireland. He hated moving from everything he knew. His friends, his family, his school, his teachers, his job at the comic bookstore.

Recently Damian had learned he hadn't become numb to everything. He brushed up against the hot stove one night and felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. Pain. Physical pain.

It took him a while to learn that he could cause the pain himself. Anything was better then numbness. Even the blood running down his arm and pooling in his palm was better.

He didn't do it often, although you would never guess that by the way his arm looked. He only did it when the numbness became unbearable.

Damian had contemplated suicide once or twice since his parents' accident. He missed them greatly and wanted to be with them.

"Dinner's ready buddy." Shannon called up the stairs.

Damian closed his bloody flip knife and tossed it under his bed. He pulled down the sleeve of his black hoodie but didn't move.

He heard Shannon's footsteps coming up the stairs and to his room.

"Damian, dinner." She said, pushing open his door.

"I'm tired." He mumbled, staring at the ceiling.

"You can go to sleep right after dinner, but I want you to eat tonight."

Damian groaned.

"If you don't eat, I wont let you open the packages you got today." She teased.

Damian stood up and followed down downstairs.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note<em>

_I'm sorry for the short chapter. I have more planned, but I can't write them in this chapter. This is an history chapter. I wish it was longer. I have a few more chapters of history lessons...or chapters with history lessons in them._

_Let me know what you think and who you want me to write about next._

_Thanks._

_- Shelby_


	9. Chapter 9

Cameron opened his eyes and blinked a few times before things came into focus. He was still a little foggy from the anesthesia. His room was dark; the surgery took longer then he had expected. There was a dull ache in his chest from where they put in the cancer port. An IV was an IV in the crook of his arm.

"Hey, you're awake." James said, crossing the small room.

"Can I go home now?" Cameron asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"No, bubba. Not yet." He said, stroking Cameron's blonde hair. "You have a week of chemo before we can head home."

Cameron turned his head away from his brother, tears in his eyes. "I'm tired of this. I wanna go home."

"Cam, I know—"

"No you don't!" Cameron screamed, sitting up. "You don't know! You're not the one sitting in this damn bed with tubes and wires attached to you! You're not the one who has been sick since you were five fucking years old!"

Cameron felt his brother big hand hit him hard in the jaw. His teeth smashed together and he could taste blood.

Cameron instantly knew what he had did wrong. He swore.

He leaned over and opened his mouth, blood dripped from his mouth on to the white blankets the covered his legs.

He remembered what happened when he first got diagnosed with leukemia. He was playing soccer with James and Austin. Austin kicked the ball hard and it hit Cameron hard in the face. His nose bled and he started crying. James pulled his shirt off and pressed it to Cameron's nose. When James or Austin had a nose bleed it would stop after a minute of holding a tissue to it. His bled and bled and bled and bled for five minutes before James said they needed to get Mom. Austin didn't want to get Mom because he knew he would get in trouble. But James ran inside and got Mom. Mom packed up the kids and headed to the hospital. Cameron's nose was still bleeding. It bled for a long time before the doctors did something to make it stop.

Cameron watched as the bloodstain on the blanket grew bigger and bigger.

"Get a doctor." Cameron said, spitting on to his sheet to keep from swallowing.

"What's even bleeding?" James asked. "Did you bite your tongue or your cheek?"

Cameron couldn't tell; there was just too much blood in his mouth.

"Get a doctor." He repeated.

James nodded and ran quickly out of the room.

* * *

><p>Marissa rolled over in her bed, trying hard to get to sleep. But it was no use. There were just some nights when her brain wouldn't shut down. Tonight was one of those nights.<p>

She grabbed her cell phone off her nightstand and dialed Cameron's number. She knew that he was in the hospital but figured he would probably be awake.

"Whaa?" Cameron's voice was muffled.

"Hey, Cam. I'm glad you're awake." She smiled, staring at the moon.

A few years ago, Cameron went away for a while. He was sick, so him and his mom went to Cameron's grandma's Montana for the fresh air for Cameron. She would call lonely and he once told her that she was never alone as long as she looked at the moon because they both saw the same moon.

"Yeah…so whaa's up?" his voice was sill muffled, like he was talking through a pillow or his mouth was full.

"Having a hard time sleeping. I was hoping you'd sing me a lullaby like you used to." She said, hopefully.

"I can't 'ight now."

"Why not?"

"My phone 's dyin'. I got ooh go."

Before she could say bye he hung up.

Cameron had never been a good liar. Marissa always knew when he was lying. And he had been lying just then.

* * *

><p>"My mom never let me have girls sleep over." Damian muttered, leaning against Samuel's bed.<p>

"Well, my mom doesn't give a damn. It's not like we're gonna do anything with everyone else in the room anyway." Samuel said, lying back on his bed.

"Plus Miki is a lesbian." Bryce pointed out, rubbing Charlie's back.

"But she has Emily with her." Hannah teased.

Emily blushed and buried her face in McKynleigh's thigh.

"Why couldn't you just leave Charlie with your mom?" Samuel asked as the two year old started whining.

"I rely on my mom too much for my own kid." He said, laying his son on his chest.

Damian looked around the room feeling out of place. Samuel had such a man's room. There were pictures of girls in their underwear posing on motorcycles and in wet bikini's on the hood of sport cars. There was a weight set in the corner and a guitar with an amp in another.

The room wasn't the only reason he felt out of place. He was surrounded by a bunch of seventeen year olds he hardly knew at fifteen. He wasn't sure how old Emily was but she acted and dressed older then him.

"Damian, you look hot. Take your hoodie off." McKynleigh said, tugging on the sleeve of his blue hoodie.

"I'm okay." He insisted. And he was okay. He wasn't hot, he wasn't cold. He was content lying in his boxers and his hoodie on his sleeping bag listening to the conversations the others were having.

"Sammy!" Angel screamed from down the hall.

Samuel groaned and pushed himself up.

McKynleigh ran her hands over Emily's arm. She gently gripped Emily's wrist and flipped her wrist over. Her arm was covered in scars.

"Em?" she said, slowly.

Emily tried to pull her arm away.

"What's this?" she asked, running her fingers over the deep scars.

"They're old. Really old. Like over a year. I'm fine now." She said.

"Why do you have them?" Hannah asked.

"Stress…I don't really want to get into it." She said firmly.

"So…that trig test was really hard." Bryce said, trying to change the subject.

Damian gripped his wrist tightly, pain slowly spreading from the cuts. He wondered if they would care about his cuts and scars.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note<em>

_I am so sorry this took so long to post. I've been so busy. I am taking a lot of advanced classes in school. I've had to do a lot with band. And I'm working on going into the Army, and that takes up a lot of time. I've been working on my novel and other stories._

_I promise I'll try and post more chapters faster then I have been. I would like to know what your favourite stories of mine are so I know what stories to work on more often._

_Thanks._

_- Shelby_


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